Elizabeth Kemp

Elizabeth Kemp (November 5, 1951 – September 1, 2017) was an American actress, theatre director, and acting coach born in Key West, Florida. Her father, Joseph Clifton Kemp, was a business executive, U.S. Navy officer, and test pilot stationed at the Pentagon, and her mother was Nancy Jean (Haycock) Kemp. As a child, Kemp demonstrated talent as a painter between the ages of 13 and 16, and she graduated from high school with a special award for creative achievement. At 16 she applied to the Rhode Island School of Design but was advised to wait a year before enrolling. She subsequently trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Actors Studio in New York City, studying under Lee Strasberg, and became a lifetime member of the Actors Studio in 1975.

Kemp launched her professional career on television, making her debut in 1973 in the series Love of Life, playing the role of Betsy. Her stage work during this period included the original cast of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which originated at the off-Broadway Actors Studio before transferring to Broadway as a long-running production. Her mentor Elia Kazan brought Tennessee Williams to see her in that show while Williams was searching for an actress to portray Baby Doll in the world premiere of his play Tiger Tail. Williams cast her in the role following that performance, and she collaborated closely with him in developing the character. In 1978, Kemp appeared on Broadway in Once in a Lifetime. In 1980, she made her feature film debut in the horror film He Knows You're Alone, alongside Caitlin O'Heaney and Tom Hanks. She also received the GLAAD Award for her work on L.A. Law in 1986.

As a stage director, Kemp helmed numerous productions at the Actors Studio, including The Glass Menagerie, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and the world premiere of Edward Allan Baker's Free Gift Inside. Her directing work extended internationally: she staged The Stronger and Homesick at Strindberg's Intimate Theater in Stockholm, and directed Dreamstories at the Claude LeLouch Theatre Cine 13 in Paris and at La Spazia Teatro in Rome. She also worked as an artistic associate and tutor at the 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne, Australia, and directed productions at regional theatres across the United States, including the California Actors Theatre in San Francisco, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C., Center Stage in Baltimore, and Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.

Later in her career, Kemp transitioned into teaching, initially at the Strasberg Institute before joining the acting faculty of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, where she eventually served as chair. Among the students she mentored there were Bradley Cooper and Poorna Jagannathan. Kemp married actor Michael Margotta in New York City in 1984; the couple separated in June 1991 and later divorced. She died of cancer on September 1, 2017, in Venice, Los Angeles, at the age of 65. Former students Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, and Lady Gaga offered public tributes following her death, and the 2018 film A Star Is Born was dedicated to her memory.